CHICO &GT;&GT; Chico's school board began with a "sobering" budget report and went on to adopt an "ambitious" draft master plan for high schools sports facilities that has no funding or timetable.

Wednesday night the Chico Unified School District board of trustees approved a $102 million budget for the 2014-2015 academic year where the expenditures will exceed the revenue by about $4.5 million.

"We really are not a healthy district (fiscally)," according to Kevin Bultema, the CUSD assistant superintendent for business.

He said the red ink will be covered by budgetary reserves but he projected that the CUSD budget will be about $2 million out of balance for each of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.

Kathy Kaiser, president of the board, called the budget prospects "sobering."

Bultema said the budget he was offering was a conservative one and things may turn out less grim than he anticipates.

This is the district's first budget under a new state funding scheme and since the state budget was only signed on Sunday the actual inflow of dollars could be different from what Bultema anticipated.

He also said that he and his team are going to do a thorough review of all aspects of the budget in an effort to identify where the deficit is coming from.

With more than 91 percent of the CUSD budget dedicated to salaries and benefits, he said finding a way to end the deficit will most likely require some cuts.

Almost immediately after hearing the budget report, the board heard a report on a draft master plan covering sports and athletics facilities at Chico High School and Pleasant Valley High School.

The draft plan calls for the creation of a football stadium at Chico High that would include an artificial turf field, an eight-lane all weather track around the football field, as well as bleacher seating, and a stadium entrance way that would include restrooms and a concession stand.

The plan also calls for a refurbished football stadium and track at Pleasant Valley High, which already has a stadium. The refurbished facility would include expanded bleacher seating, a new eight-lane track, and new entrance, also with new restrooms and a concession stand.

Also included in the plan are renewed and improved facilities for soccer, softball and baseball at both campuses.

The plans that had been prepared at the direction of the trustees, do not include detailed project costs, but Julie Kistle, district director for facilities and construction, said a ball park estimate was the total cost would be about $20 million for each campus.

Several board members said they wanted to make it clear that adopting the master plan didn't mean anything would be happening soon, if at all.

Chico High Principal Jim Hanlon said having an approved master plan, gives him and Pleasant Valley High Principal John Shepherd "a better way to express what we want to do" to the public.

"It shows the community that we are all on the same page," he continued.

Trustee Andrea Lerner Thompson said repeatedly she was uncomfortable approving the proposal without more detailed financial plans connected.

Hanlon said the proposed plan is like "eating an elephant," and he, Shepherd, and other people involved in crafting the proposal will work it over and come up with ideas to break it down to "doable" bites.

"I would cut up the food really fine, so you don't choke on a precise bite," said Kaiser.

Trustee Linda Hovey said the proposal had to start somewhere and the master plan does that.

Ultimately the board voted unanimously to adopt the master plan.

After the vote, Kaiser said, "Gentlemen," speaking to the principals, "Your work has just started."